In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Hermes gives Pandora the gift of deceitful speech.
Hesiod’s creation scene assigns different contributions to different gods. Hephaestus forms Pandora, Athena gives her instruction and adornment, Aphrodite grants charm, and Hermes provides speech along with a deceptive or misleading quality. These details make Pandora a composite divine creation rather than the work of one god alone.
Hermes is the Olympian messenger and is also associated with cunning, boundaries, trade, and trickery. His role in the Pandora story fits that broader mythological profile. Modern summaries often mention only beauty and curiosity, so the specific attribution of deceptive speech to Hermes is an easily overlooked detail from Hesiod’s account.